
John Cena will battle Randy Orton for the WWE Championship title in Summerslam 2009 on August 23, 2009 at the Staples Center.
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Judging by the amount of TV time The Hart Dynasty is getting, it’s obvious that the powers that be in WWE like what they see from the pink-and-black-clad trio.
Thursday night on WWE Superstars, The Hart Dynasty made its third appearance on a WWE television show this week and headlined its second consecutive program.
Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith teamed with Jack Swagger Thursday to face The Colons and Christian. The babyfaces prevailed in an entertaining match.
Win or lose, THD is fun to watch. I wouldn’t mind if they were on multiple shows every week.
Other thoughts on Thursday’s show:
While I liked the six-man tag team main event, the two best things about this episode were provided by Maria, who served as the guest referee for the match between Eve and Layla. This may have been the first time ever that I paid more attention to the referee than the wrestlers. …
I did turn my eyes away from Maria long enough to see Eve execute a nice finisher in which she did a cartwheel into a back flip into a splash. Eve still has a long way to go in the ring, but she is getting better. I think the fact the she’s a little thicker than the average diva works to her advantage as far as looking the part of a wrestler. …
At Maria’s request, Eve and Layla seemingly buried the hatchet after their match. That’s good news, because I was having trouble sleeping knowing those two were at war with each other. Perhaps Maria could use her powers of persuasion to get Hulk and Linda Hogan to reconcile. …
Mr. Kennedy, a guy who at one time was on the fast track to becoming a world champion in WWE, has been released, the company announced on its Web site earlier this evening.
There are no details as to why Kennedy was let go, but the most obvious assumption is that it’s due to his inability to stay healthy. After being out nine months with a dislocated shoulder, Kennedy returned to TV Monday in a 10-man tag team match on Raw and reportedly suffered a wrist injury during the match.
It was the latest in a string of injuries for Kennedy, 33, during his four years in WWE. Two months after winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 in 2007 – which most likely would have led to a world title run – he suffered a torn triceps.
When I asked Kennedy about his history of injuries in an interview this past January, he dismissed the suggestion that he was injury prone.
“You know, I’ve heard all the ‘Oh, Kennedy’s injury prone’ and all that stuff, but there are certain things that happen, and if you knew the whole story you wouldn’t necessarily think that,” he said. “I’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is frustrating. I had the Money in the Bank and was on the way to becoming a world champion and then injury struck. And it’s just been one thing after the other, but I just keep my head up. I was told a long time ago that if you have talent you cannot be denied and eventually good things will happen.”
During his relatively short time in wrestling, Kennedy has been somewhat of a controversial figure. Not long after he was adamant in a 2007 interview that he had not taken steroids since he signed with WWE, Kennedy was one of 10 WWE wrestlers suspended 30 days for violating the company’s Wellness Policy. The suspension came after he was among the wrestlers named in a report by Sports Illustrated as having received steroids and/or human growth hormone through Signature Pharmacy, a Florida pharmaceutical company that was under investigation.
John Cena has a submission match against The Big Show at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on June 7, so it wasn’t difficult to figure out the finish of Cena’s match against Ted DiBiase Jr. on WWE Superstars Thursday night.
Of course Cena won with the STF, but while the finish was predictable, the match itself was intriguing because it pitted WWE’s biggest star against one of its most promising young stars.
The two worked well together and, more importantly, DiBiase again proved in this showcase match that he has “it” inside the ring.
Despite having a little less than three years experience, the 26-year-old DiBiase already wrestles like a seasoned veteran. If he can develop his character, he will be the future superstar that many in WWE think he can be, and Cena-DiBiase will be headlining pay-per-views and not just WWE Superstars.
DiBiase’s detractors have pointed out his lack of charisma, but I remember that’s what some people used to say about Randy Orton. It’s funny how I don’t hear that too much anymore.
New WWE champion Batista has been ruled out of action for four months after undergoing surgery to reattach his torn left bicep.
The Animal, who only won back the title in a Steel Cage Match against Randy Orton at Extreme Rules on Sunday night, had looked set for a long reign as champion.
But having left RAW in an ambulance just 24 hours later, Batista has now had an operation that will keep him out until October.
Orton is well placed to reclaim the vacated belt, therefore, and The Viper will compete against Triple H, John Cena and Big Show in a Fatal Four Way for the title on the next edition of Monday night RAW.
CM Punk and Edge will go head-to-head for the world heavyweight title, meanwhile, and Tommy Dreamer and Christian are set to square off for the ECW belt in a show which is being billed as a championship three-for-all.